Ahhh! I wrote this entry yesterday and now we have a snow day! Life is full of surprises. I hope everyone is resting and enjoying their snow day and, looking at their duties for the next ten days, whether it is Box Office, or photography or rehearsing your lines if you are in the play. Everyone should be very busy from now through March 17.
So much is going on. See below for a complete schedule of the next week and a half. Now is the time when the students step forward and really shepherd the show to where we will end up. Right now working the way they have worked so far is going to seem like nothing. The next two weeks will be full of hard work requiring concentration, patience and tenacity. The show will be as wonderful as the students want to make it. Mr Schoeneman (Lia's Dad) and Mr. Beck and Mr. Hensley (my husband) all hung and focused lights all weekend long (both Saturday and Sunday.) Students learned how to hang, cable and focus lighting and they were introduced to the lighting board (computer) today in an orientation session for the lighting crew in rehearsal. This is the first show I have done with LED lights which are powered and controlled in a totally different way from traditional stage lights. Thanks to Larry Fox for staying and working with the kids and adults on Saturday and thanks to all of our dedicated kids who came in to hang and focus this weekend or to work on their roles with me upstairs on Saturday afternoon.
Today was the red cast's first day in the theatre. Tomorrow the blue cast will be onstage. We begin working with our musicians in rehearsal in Carlson on Wednesday. YIKES! It's all very exciting.
Here is the notice I sent to parents and students today about everything Jungalbook.
March 4, 2013
Tech weeks for Jungalbook are about to begin. In the next 10 days, we will add costumes and lighting, sell tickets and put the musical underscoring into the show. Here is our rehearsal schedule for the next two weeks and some information about costumes. Please do not take your child out of school during rehearsals for doctor’s appointments without having your student check with his/her mentor. Each student is an important part of this production. Daytime rehearsals during the school day are subject to change.
Week 7—Stage Crew and Lighting Crew in rehearsal in Carlson all week. Mon Mar 4, 2013--1:45pm - 3:15pm 1:45—warm-ups and notes in Carlson Carlson—RED cast fight call, then run thru to p. 30 with Ms. Wilson Cafeteria—BLUE cast line speed thru and line run-thru including “move thru” for Movement Group. 2:05 BLUE cast to music room speedy line thru with music cues. P. 1-30 work music cues. 2:50 RED cast costume parade.
Tue Mar 5, 2013--1:45pm - 3:15pm 1:45 warm-ups and notes in Cafeteria 1:55 Carlson—BLUE cast Fight call then run-thru to p. 30 w/Ms. Wilson. Cafeteria—RED cast line speed thru including “move thru” for Movement Groups 2:05—Red cast to music and drama room for speed thru with music cues at tempo pages 30-60.)
Wed Mar 6, 2013 (short rehearsal day) 1pm – 1:45 Rehearsals/Production—opening and closing/ tba Music cue to cue in Carlson? cast tba. Cafeteria TBA for scene work and fights.
Thu Mar 7, 2013 1:45pm - 3:15pm Rehearsal /Production work Warm-ups become separate by cast. Fight call before all rehearsals. RED cast in Carlson p. 31—end of play. With Ms. Wilson BLUE cast in Cafeteria—run thru beginning to end. No stopping.
Fri Mar 8, 2013 1:45pm - 3:15pm Rehearsal /Production work BLUE cast in Carlson p. 31 to end of play. RED cast in Cafeteria run thru no stopping to the end.
Sat Mar 9, 2013 TECH/ 1st DRESS rehearsal—today’s rehearsal is about lighting the show. 9-noon: TECH BLUE starting at the top. 1-4pm: TECH RED, pick up where we left off in am rehearsal.
Week 8-- Performance Week
Mon Mar 11, 2013 TECH—dress rehearsal 12:30pm warm-ups 12:45—3:15 RED cast in Carlson start at the top. 12:45—3:15 BLUE cast in Cafeteria and drama room.
Tue Mar 12, 2013 TECH—dress rehearsal 12: 30 warm-up then BLUE Cast in Carlson—Run-thru 12:30 RED Cast in Cafeteria—Run –thru and trouble spots.
Wed Mar 13, 2013 (Conference Day at Baker) Add make-up today. 9:00am – 4pm FINAL TECH/DRESS –each cast is called for ½ of the day. Production crew is called all day. Bring a lunch and a snack. 9—noon: RED cast. Make-up schedule will be posted. 1-4: BLUE cast. Make up schedule will be posted.
IMPORTANT: please call Ms. Wilson directly on her cell phone if your child will be sick for a dress rehearsal or performance.
Performances:
Red cast: 3/14School invited dress rehearsal: 8am Call for cast and crew/ 9am curtain. 3/14 Public performance: Call for cast and crew 6pm/ 7pm curtain. 3/15 public performance: Call for cast and crew 3 pm/ 4pm curtain. 3/16 public performance: Call for cast and crew 1pm/ 2pm curtain.
Blue Cast: 3/14 Public performance: 3pm call for cast and crew/ 4pm curtain. 3/15 Student performance: 8am Call for cast and crew / 9am curtain. 3/16 Public performance 6pm Call for cast and crew /7pm curtain. 3/17 Public performance: 1pm Call for cast and crew / 2pm curtain. 3/17 3:30 Strike: Mr. Beck will run the strike for all middle school students with Jungalbook Mentor Teachers.
Tickets? The Media Division will handle all ticket sales. There are six performances and plenty of seats available. You should have received an order form for tickets. Ticket prices are $10 adults and $5 children. If you need a ticket for someone with limited mobility, please note the type of limitation (i.e. Wheelchair) in the area on the ticket order form. You can order tickets using the form or there will be tickets on sale after school starting next week. Will I have to make or purchase a costume?
Music division members will need black pants (no jeans), black shoes and black shirts.
Crew must wear all black clothes for tech and performances. (No t-shirts with writing, no jeans, black shoes, black socks.)
Actors will be responsible for providing their own shoes, undergarments (including all underwear, camisoles, tights, trunks, dance or bike shorts for wear under costumes in consideration of modesty). I have arranged a discount at Allegro on Central Street if your child needs to buy jazz shoes. Or you can also go to Payless carries shoes that look like black keds. Have your child ask the costumers if he/she has questions.
Make-up-- each actor must provide his/her general character stage make-up. All items can be bought at any local drug store. Please see the shopping list below.
Does the rehearsal process get longer or more intense as you approach opening day? On March 7th, the middle school will move into more extended dress and technical rehearsals and production work. It is essential that your child gets lots of sleep and eats healthy food during tech week. We suggest bringing a refillable water bottle to school each day for the duration of the project so your student can stay hydrated and healthy! Healthy snacks can also be helpful to students on the long rehearsal days. There is a station in the cafeteria to refill water bottles. Absence/Attendance Policy: The Jungalbook production is similar to being on a sports team—presence is essential. Students have to be here to do the work. If your child is in school, he/she is expected to attend rehearsal every day. If your child has any change of schedule...absence, appointments, late arrival, alternate pick-up plans...this must be phoned in to the office. By calling the office, you ensure your child and yourself of clear communication within the school. The office will always inform all necessary parties of the change. We ask that you follow the Baker Demonstration School absence policy. Sending your child to school when he or she is ill puts the child at risk as well as everyone else involved in the project. The Baker Handbook has more information about our Illness Policy. Thank you. Hygiene: Please remind your child to wear (and to bring) deodorant and to shower daily and wear clean socks and undergarments to rehearsals. They will be sharing some costume pieces between casts and being diligent about personal hygiene is important for our young actors.
Make-up Requirements for Jungalbook: To keep everyone healthy, every actor must provide his/her general character stage make-up. A make-up kit should consist of the following and all items can be purchased at a local drugstore. Don’t spend money on anything fancy.
Make-up for Women:
One cream base one shade darker than her skin tone (L’Oreal makes a good product that is inexpensive and goes on smoothly with an included sponge.)
One basic red/pink powder rouge with sponge or brush for application.
One container of loose translucent powder.
One dark brown or black liquid or waterproof pencil eyeliner.
One medium brown or dark brown powder or cream eye shadow (dependent on skin tone.) Powder is easiest to use.
One light highlight eye shadow—white or cream. Powder is easier to use.
One eye shadow brush.
One reddish, peach or dark pink lipstick—flattering to the skin tone and it should have some pigment to help the lips “read” onstage. Please no lip gloss.
Baby wipes or make-up remover wipes for taking off make-up. Students must remove stage make-up after a performance or rehearsal. Baby wipes facilitate easy make-up removal of stage make-up.
Tissues.
Comb or brush.
Curling iron or flat iron if needed.
Deodorant and other personal care items needed.
One old button down shirt to wear for make-up application with name written in the collar.
A make-up bag or case to hold all items.
Make-up for Men:
One cream base one shade darker than actual skin tone—L’Oreal makes a decent one with an included sponge applicator.
One container of loose/translucent powder.
One dark brown or black crayon eyeliner.
One pink/rose blush crème or powder --with brush or sponge applicator.
One medium brown or dark brown eye shadow depending on skin tone.
Eye shadow brush.
Deodorant and any other personal care items needed such as foot powder.
Baby wipes or make-up remover wipes for removing make-up.
Tissues.
One old button down shirt with name written in the collar to wear for make-up application.
About the violence: There are two deaths in the play.
The first death occurs when the tiger fells Akela, the once alpha wolf. For the second death, the tiger is chasing Mowgli the hero of the play. He escapes Sherakhan's trap and traps Sherakhan with his wits before Sherakhan can kill him. Both deaths are staged in a highly symbolic way.
Sherakhan (using symbolic and professionally staged fight choreography) attacks Akela, the once alpha wolf.
Sherakhan dies from drowning (silk symbolizes the water) and he disappears and doesn't appear onstage after his death.
The weapons: Sherakhan uses his/her claws (gloved hands) to kill Akela. The water and a rope are the weapons used in the drowning of Sherakhan. The "margins" in the fight scene are very wide, meaning that all of the choreography mandates a huge space between the two characters engaged in the violent act. They are doing a choreographed dance to show the violence. Safety is paramount in the work and there is a "fight call" to rehearse for safety before every rehearsal and performance.
The anti-violence, anti-weapon message: The play provides a message that is quite clear. "Obey the law of the jungle (the school, the community, your community of friends.) It clearly exposes the price paid by the bully, the character who flouts the rules and makes his own rules to the detriment of others. How can I learn more about the project?
Baker students and mentor teachers will be keeping a wiki. The wiki will serve as the site for all things Jungalbook. Go to http://jungalbook.wikispaces.com/ Contact information: Each child has my cell phone number. My cell phone number is for your child’s use only in case of an emergency. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the JB parent liaison, Gita Tanner Drape at git@sbcglobal.net or 773-973-3054. You should have received an email from Susan Wishnick, our Jungalbook volunteer coordinator asking you to volunteer for at least one shift before the end of the run on March 17th. You can volunteer by going to this link //Jungalbook// Volunteer Form to sign up for specific times when we need your help or you can also contact Susan Wishnick, Parent Volunteer Coordinator at allansusan@aol.com.
Thank you for your support of the Jungalbook project! Sincerely, Lizanne Wilson
February 11, 2013
PAINTING THE SET ON SATURDAY
Here we go into another wild week of Jungalbook rehearsal. Yesterday, about 30 kids and their parents (I thought it was 20 but my colleagues told me there were more!) worked on cleaning the theatre and painting the set for Jungalbook. Thank you parents and guardians for taking the time to bring your middle school student to school to work with the community. The teachers always enjoy the painting day. There is no rushing to fit everything into an hour. We have a three hour span to work at a comfortable pace. We were able to strike the "legs" which are the masking panels for each entrance onstage. They will be building new "legs" this week out of more sturdy plywood instead of flimsy luan. The students and parents painted over the MSND backdrop and we were able to create "brick walls" for the new legs out of some tape and ingenuity. The kids and parents laid down painters tape to imitate the masonry between the bricks and then the crew painted the whole panel brick red. Lifting off the tape and revealing the "brick wall" was really fun for all. Now the walls will be "distressed" to look like old alley walls.
LEARNING LINES
FAMILIES HELP! If you have a cast member in your household, please go over lines and blocking with himevery night. Learning lines alone is much harder than having someone "hold the book" for you while you try to master your lines. If you can have your student study the script by:
1. Reading a page or a scene aloud
2. Covering the page with a clean sheet of paper and focusing on one line at a time and repeating that line til it sticks into the actor's memory.
3. Once the actor has a sense of the flow of the scene and is beginning to memorize the scene, someone can "hold the book" and test the actor's knowledge of the scene by going through it with him or her three or four or five times and reading all the cues and helping the actor with his mistakes on lines.
For example, take a look at the excerpt below from page 8 of the script. It doesn't matter if you have the role of Akela, Grey, or Bagheera; all of the actors need to know the sequence of the lines to understand their "cues" to speak. If someone is running lines with the young actor, they have a much better time understanding and memorizing the flow of the scene and where their lines fit into that flow. If your child has a speaking role, he or she should be studying lines at least 45 minutes to one hour a night. All lines are due this Friday. If your child doesn't have a speaking role, he or she should be memorizing his/her blocking--the movement from place to place onstage-- every day. Memorizing blocking is as important as learning lines. All of the actors are very important to the success of the play. Don't underestimate your contribution to the success of Jungalbook.
This play will only succeed with lots of hard work from the students involved in all aspects of the production. Learning your lines and blocking is only the beginning. Then we have to make the lines come to life through further development of the character. Work! Work! Work!
Example of why one has to know the whole scene to remember your cues to speak:
Akela:
Showed that tiger.
Grey:
Do we eat the mancub now?
Akela:
No, stupid. We get the bull.
Grey:
Oh, Yeh.
Bagheera:
What will you name the mancub?
Akela:
Name? Oh, right.
We'll call him
uh
let's see.
He's got no fur on his skin
so we'll call him
Mowgli.
February 5, 2013
Don't forget to come and paint the set with your middle school student on Sunday, February 10 between 1 and 4pm. All students who come to paint on Sunday must be accompanied by an adult. Also check out the volunteer form on the wiki. We need lots of help and we'd love to have you work with us.
We had a production meeting today with all of the Jungalbook mentor teachers. Mr. Schoeneman finished his second lighting class with our students this morning in Carlson. There is so much Science and Math in theater. Kara and I figured out how to do Kaa, the snake, today. Things are starting to flow. Kids know where they should be and what their jobs entail. While the whole JB teacher team met with the middle school teachers yesterday afternoon from 2:45-3:15, Ms. Swanson-Beck met with the whole middle school in Carlson. One student from each working group reported on the progress of their individual groups and answered questions. Students did some reflection in their notebooks. I met with Ms. Swanson-Beck this morning and she mentioned how poised and confident our student presenters were as they spoke in front of the whole middle school. I heard from Mr. Bingaman today that Jungalbook was sneaking into written conversations and discussions in Language Arts. That is the idea of the integrated project and yet we are all so glad when we see it start to connect throughout the curriculum for our kids. Gita Tanner Drape is our new JB Parent Liason. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to contact Gita by phone or at git@sbcglobal.net.
February 2, 2013
The week flew by as we blocked our first scenes in both the red and blue cast. Stage Managers learned about the mechanics of stage management from Gita and Scott. Lia wrote her first weekly update from all of the work groups and Daisy and Allison worked on designing the callboard. Student actors realized that writing down one's blocking in rehearsal is important (otherwise you forget where you were supposed to go! Assignments went out to the dancers/movement artists for Monday when Kara will work with them to put their original "movement sentences" into larger "paragraphs of movement" and eventually whole pieces for the play. Costume designers presented to me on Wednesday while Scott and Kara ran the blocking rehearsal. The costumes were, in short, brilliant, insightful, creative and and amusing. Meg did a great job leading the girls through the process of character analysis and through their work on Pinterest, they collected all sorts of visual material for insipiration. Wait til you all see your costumes--they will inspire you!
Allison found a poem by Rudyard Kipling from the Mowgli Stories that really sums up the central ideas of the play. Here it is:
From Allison:
This is a poem that's featured in the second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. It reminded me a lot of some of Baloo's monologues and thought it may help them understand the language a little more. http://www.kipling.org.uk/poems_lawofjungle.htm
Check it out...Great find, Allison!
Next week we will send out a volunteer form to families and a detailed rehearsal schedule.
Have a good weekend!
Ms. Wilson
What a wonderful day! January 25, 2013
Our zoo trip was cancelled due to weather conditions. I was disappointed for the kids. When we decided to cancel, the team: JB Mentor Teachers, MS Teachers and Artists in Residence worked to craft a Jungalbook intensive that would meet the objectives of the field trip.
The students started with advisory.
9:30--10:45---Jungalbook Town Hall Meeting
We introduced themes of the play and students brought up key questions that kept coming up for them. Lots of discussion of the setting of the play in an alley and what that means for everyone's work whether it is costumes, sets, media, photography, video, crew etc...
We broke into our multi-age field trip groups with JB Teacher Mentors and Middle School Teachers as leaders. The kids formulated an essential question in each group. Those questions were taken into the session at
10:45--12:15 Digital Zoo/Discussion
In their field trip groups, students shared their research from Science class on the individual animals in the play. In my group with Ms. Hepp, we discussed modern archetypes in our culture for each of the characters. I loved the suggestions of Kanye West as Sherakhan at the Grammys when Taylor Swift won a Grammy. We talked about James Bond as Ballou and many others. The students brought their insights and questions into the discussion. The agreed to "see it differently" at times and they had lively discussions of the themes in the play.
12:15--1 Lunch and Recess
1:00--1:45 Viewed Elephant's Child, an award winning film of the Kipling story on video, with Jack Nicholson as the narrator.
1:45--3:15 Regular Jungalbook Arts Core Classes.
In rehearsal, we began in the cafeteria with introductions all around and some protracted movement explorations into the world of the play. After warm-ups, students worked as an ensemble on an exercise starting and stopping movement as a group without a designated leader. Then the same technique was applied to movement. They stopped and started without an assigned leader while picking up and sharing movement phrases. It was a dialogue through movement for 31 students. We finished in the drama room with goal setting: a short term goal for next Friday and a long term goal for the entire project. Trusting the process as we work is essential, I want the answers, but if I trust the students to collaborate with the mentors, we will have a much stronger show that reflects the collective vision of the middle school. That takes time, courage and patience.
Yes, today was a great day. I'm so sorry we couldn't go to the zoo, but there was lots of learning and connecting today.
I want to say a huge public thank you to:
The mentor teachers: Mr. Beck, Ms. Guerra, Ms. Crawford, Ms. Grgurich, Ms. Karstedt, Mr Shimizu, Mr. Gnutek, Mr. Haight for their willingness work to to plan something meaningful,educational and artistic for today's sessions together
Mr. Leach, MS Team Leader for his astute leadership in helping me to make the right call to cancel the trip and for working to find meaningful and challenging pursuits for our kids today.
Mr. Bingaman for leading as we moved students' into their field trip groups and for helping to formulate excellent questions for discussion.
Ms. Hepp for teaching all about the animals in Jungalbook this week including having the students research one specific animal. It made today's work so much more meaningful.
Mrs. Nayder for suggesting Lincoln Park Zoo as an alternate. Even though it didn't work out in the end, we tried our level best to preserve the field trip. Thanks.
Mr. Haines for helping to organize the digital zoo part of the day and making things run smoothly by doing what needed to be done.
Ms. Tuchman and Ms. Jackson for being on top of everything, as always. It takes a village to make a cancelled field trip a success.
Have a great weekend everyone.
Cast--your assignment is due on Tuesday. Here it is and I'll put it on my blog as well. Jungalbook Character Work.1 Due memorized next Tuesday, January 29 Directions: Type or write (triple spaced) at least 10 lines from an important moment in the play for one of your characters.
1 Paraphrase the speech into clear, standard English. 2 Circle all punctuation. Identify the parts of speech in the sentence for yourself. 3 Highlight key words in the text. Using colored pencils or microsoft word on the computer, color each key word in order to communicate the meaning of the key words when you are speaking. 4 Punch: choose words in the speech that must be heard and understood. Underline them. 5 Pause: mark when you take a breath with a check mark. Then use the text to decide where you pause //. 6 Create a specific movement for each highlighted (punch, pause, color) word in the text.
Save question 7 for later work-- 7 WRITE In your spiral notebook: Answer the following questions for your character in this scene. Use “I” and write as your character when answer these questions:
Thursday, January 24, 2013---Field Trip to the zoo tomorrow! Dress warmly.
We started rehearsals on Tuesday with two read-throughs of the script for the red and the blue cast respectively.
On Wednesday, every production area met on their own to start the hard work of putting up the show.
In rehearsal, we began with warm-ups: a physical warm-up led by Kara and then a mindfulness exercise let by Scott that led into work with the music of language and exploring all of our vocal range with me. When one is first developing a character, it's easy to get stuck in physical or vocal "cliches" or "traps". We explore with lots of movement work and vocal exploration so the actor can find the voice for his character. One can do that by thinking about it and trying different options. I prefer to take actors through physical explorations that lead into vocal experimentation. When we approach character through the physical then the actor is able to use all his tools: mind, body, voice and imagination, to build a character that is unique and complicated.
Mean Girls,the movie? We had the cast take a look at two scenes in the film Mean Girls. In the movie, the main character has just returned from living in a jungle in Africa to a California high school. She imagines the high school social groups as wild animals. Seeing the clips started the casts on a great discussion of and exploration of the continuum of Totally human as a "10" to pure animal as a "1". Where will our characters be on the human---animal spectrum? The adults are thinking mostly human with animal characteristics, but the actors will explore and discover and we will see.
Today, Kara will do some work with "flocking" which is a technique she learned through the Actor's Gym. Scott has training in flocking as well. I'm excited to learn something new today.
Here's the pic of the lion at the zoo...I hope he's around his window tomorrow.
January 21, 2013
Jungalbook--rehearsal day 1.
We start tomorrow. You will get your script at rehearsal.
Tue Jan 22, 2013--For your first rehearsal, please go to the location specified on these lists— Supplies: Starting Wednesday, you will need to bring your Three ring binder Spiral notebook for drama 2 sharpened pencils Carlson Auditorium Read Thru—1:45pm - 2:45pm (Blue Cast) The following students will come to Carlson at 1:45. Bring a pencil. Carlson read –thru: Ms. Karstadt—Acting AIR Mr. Beck—Technical Director Mr. Haight—Media Division Mentor—Video and Photography Mr. Leach, Mr. Haines, Ms. Cawley Assistant Stage Managers--Nina Kaushikaar, Katherine Mann Stage Crew: Mr. Beck Crew Chief--Daniela Romero Lighting Design--TBD Sound Engineer--Chris Rohner Stage Crew--Jake Coasby, Kurt Bruggeman, Aiden Finnegan Kenneth Fox House Manager--Lizzie Raffel MEDIA: Ms.Crawford, Mr. Haight, Ms. Cruse Photography: Sophie Haight Sophie Levine Holt Oliphant Video: Fabio Andrade, Gia Calbeza, Ted Dove Business/ Box Office/Digital Media: Poster--Haley Gibbs Program design--Henry Goodman Box Office Head--Chris Werner Digital Media Staff --Lizzie Raffel BLUE CAST-15 Baloo—Ben D. Grab--Joseph Grey--Maia Akela--Seth Bagheera—Annie Sherakhan---Lauren Mowgli---Carlo Perchy the Monkey---Levi Chil the Vulture---Nora Hyena—Ben B Hathi—Sophia Z Kaa---Ayanna Dance Captain: Violet and Sophia Movement Group: Ayanna, Noah*, Violet, Sophia Z. Helen 2:45pm –3:15 All move to Carlson for Introductions of AIR’s and Mentor Artists
Jungalbook Tue Jan 22, 2013 Music/Drama Room Read Thru—1:45pm - 2:45pm Please come to the drama/music room at 1:45. (red cast) Ms. Wilson, Director Mr. Shimizu—Apprentice AIR Ms. Tanner—Acting Mentor Ms. Grgurich –Design AIR Mr. Gnutek—Set Designer and Design Mentor, Mr. Bingaman, Ms. Hepp
Production Stage Manager-- Lia Nelson Assistant Stage Manager--Owen Baker Assistant to Ms. Wilson---Daisy Hernandez Dramaturgy/Head Storyteller-- Allison Grimstead Music: Ben Gershuny, Leah Jablo, Elvis Hernandez, Tyler Young Michael Lazenby*, Noah Roth* Design Division Set /Props: Louisa Carman—Head, Props--Charlie Parkerson, Taylor, Max Set Design-- Eva Darow, Sophie Krajewski, Francie Haight, Szymon, Haddie BD, Harper Bischoff Costumes-- Elise Buchannan, Izzy Miller, Grace Goodman, Sophia Francis (make-up too) Amber Malik, Remi Schreder, Meghan TerMolen, RED CAST-16 Baloo--Miles Grab—Jesse SZ Grey--Ava Akela--Chester Bagheera—Becca Sherakhan—Alec J. Mowgli--Haley Perchy the Monkey— Elsa Chil the Vulture—Jack Hyena—Sam CC Hathi—Ceredwyn Kaa--Sage Dance Captain---Zinnia and Ceredwyn, Movement Group: Zoe, Sage, Michael L*, Zinnia and Ceredwyn Simone 2:45pm –3:15 All move to Carlson for Introductions of AIR’s and Mentor Artists
FIELD TRIP THIS Friday, January 28–HEADS UP!
9:15--Meet in the cafeteria at 9:30--Leave Baker 10:30--Arrive Brookfield Zoo at 10:30--noon--Small group activities Noon--Students gather at The Riverside Room behind BZ Red Hots to eat a sack lunch. 12:30--Buses leave for Baker 1:30--Return to Baker 1:45--Arts Core and Field Trip Debrief
For our field trip to Brookfield Zoo on Friday, you will need:
Bring warm clothing including:
A hat or earmuffs
A scarf and
Warm gloves or mittens
Warm socks
Walking shoes and a warm coat.
The wind is supposed to gust up to 30 mph on Friday. Do not sacrifice your comfort to look good.
You will be terribly cold if you do not plan carefully.
For your field trip school work, bring:
a notebook,
2 pencils,
your sketchbook or plain paper,
a sack lunch and
a water bottle,
Don’t forget these items! I suggest you put out your supplies for the field trip the night before (a teacher can suggest!) You are the one who is responsible for remembering your required supplies for rehearsals and for the field trip.
Brookfield Zoo:
I spent some time at the zoo yesterday (Sunday), checking out every place you will visit on Friday. As I was visiting with my Dad afterward, he said, “Many of your students might have not been there before.” Is that true? Perhaps Lincoln Park Zoo is your family zoo of choice? Or maybe you have visited Brookfield Zoo many times? I look forward to hearing your reactions to Brookfield Zoo. I saw a tiger (Sherakhan) yesterday. He was beautiful and majestic. The bears are right near the tigers. I saw the wolves (they are amazing creatures and it’s a great exhibit.) We looked at the rainforests. No hyenas at the zoo, but they do have vultures. The best part was the lion! They have a glass panel right on the edge of his cage. He was roaring, so Mr. H and I went over to see him. There was no one there but the two of us and he came right up to the glass and looked me in the eye. It was scary, but so much fun to be that close to a lion…yikes! I could feel the sound vibrations from his roar…he did not like me standing so close, even with a glass wall between us. Is that how Sherakhan feels when Mowgli is nearby?
Director's Notes by Ms. Wilson
March 5, 2013
Ahhh! I wrote this entry yesterday and now we have a snow day! Life is full of surprises. I hope everyone is resting and enjoying their snow day and, looking at their duties for the next ten days, whether it is Box Office, or photography or rehearsing your lines if you are in the play. Everyone should be very busy from now through March 17.
So much is going on. See below for a complete schedule of the next week and a half. Now is the time when the students step forward and really shepherd the show to where we will end up. Right now working the way they have worked so far is going to seem like nothing. The next two weeks will be full of hard work requiring concentration, patience and tenacity. The show will be as wonderful as the students want to make it. Mr Schoeneman (Lia's Dad) and Mr. Beck and Mr. Hensley (my husband) all hung and focused lights all weekend long (both Saturday and Sunday.) Students learned how to hang, cable and focus lighting and they were introduced to the lighting board (computer) today in an orientation session for the lighting crew in rehearsal. This is the first show I have done with LED lights which are powered and controlled in a totally different way from traditional stage lights. Thanks to Larry Fox for staying and working with the kids and adults on Saturday and thanks to all of our dedicated kids who came in to hang and focus this weekend or to work on their roles with me upstairs on Saturday afternoon.
Today was the red cast's first day in the theatre. Tomorrow the blue cast will be onstage. We begin working with our musicians in rehearsal in Carlson on Wednesday. YIKES! It's all very exciting.
Here is the notice I sent to parents and students today about everything Jungalbook.
March 4, 2013
Tech weeks for Jungalbook are about to begin. In the next 10 days, we will add costumes and lighting, sell tickets and put the musical underscoring into the show. Here is our rehearsal schedule for the next two weeks and some information about costumes. Please do not take your child out of school during rehearsals for doctor’s appointments without having your student check with his/her mentor. Each student is an important part of this production. Daytime rehearsals during the school day are subject to change.
Week 7—Stage Crew and Lighting Crew in rehearsal in Carlson all week.
Mon Mar 4, 2013--1:45pm - 3:15pm
1:45—warm-ups and notes in Carlson
Carlson—RED cast fight call, then run thru to p. 30 with Ms. Wilson
Cafeteria—BLUE cast line speed thru and line run-thru including “move thru” for Movement Group.
2:05 BLUE cast to music room speedy line thru with music cues. P. 1-30 work music cues.
2:50 RED cast costume parade.
Tue Mar 5, 2013--1:45pm - 3:15pm
1:45 warm-ups and notes in Cafeteria
1:55 Carlson—BLUE cast Fight call then run-thru to p. 30 w/Ms. Wilson.
Cafeteria—RED cast line speed thru including “move thru” for Movement Groups
2:05—Red cast to music and drama room for speed thru with music cues at tempo pages 30-60.)
Wed Mar 6, 2013 (short rehearsal day)
1pm – 1:45 Rehearsals/Production—opening and closing/ tba
Music cue to cue in Carlson? cast tba.
Cafeteria TBA for scene work and fights.
Thu Mar 7, 2013
1:45pm - 3:15pm Rehearsal /Production work
Warm-ups become separate by cast. Fight call before all rehearsals.
RED cast in Carlson p. 31—end of play. With Ms. Wilson
BLUE cast in Cafeteria—run thru beginning to end. No stopping.
Fri Mar 8, 2013
1:45pm - 3:15pm Rehearsal /Production work
BLUE cast in Carlson p. 31 to end of play.
RED cast in Cafeteria run thru no stopping to the end.
Sat Mar 9, 2013 TECH/ 1st DRESS rehearsal—today’s rehearsal is about lighting the show.
9-noon: TECH BLUE starting at the top.
1-4pm: TECH RED, pick up where we left off in am rehearsal.
Week 8-- Performance Week
Mon Mar 11, 2013
TECH—dress rehearsal
12:30pm warm-ups
12:45—3:15 RED cast in Carlson start at the top.
12:45—3:15 BLUE cast in Cafeteria and drama room.
Tue Mar 12, 2013
TECH—dress rehearsal
12: 30 warm-up then BLUE Cast in Carlson—Run-thru
12:30 RED Cast in Cafeteria—Run –thru and trouble spots.
Wed Mar 13, 2013 (Conference Day at Baker)
Add make-up today.
9:00am – 4pm FINAL TECH/DRESS –each cast is called for ½ of the day. Production crew is called all day.
Bring a lunch and a snack.
9—noon: RED cast. Make-up schedule will be posted.
1-4: BLUE cast. Make up schedule will be posted.
IMPORTANT: please call Ms. Wilson directly on her cell phone if your child will be sick for a dress rehearsal or performance.
Performances:
Red cast:
3/14School invited dress rehearsal: 8am Call for cast and crew/ 9am curtain.
3/14 Public performance: Call for cast and crew 6pm/ 7pm curtain.
3/15 public performance: Call for cast and crew 3 pm/ 4pm curtain.
3/16 public performance: Call for cast and crew 1pm/ 2pm curtain.
Blue Cast:
3/14 Public performance: 3pm call for cast and crew/ 4pm curtain.
3/15 Student performance: 8am Call for cast and crew / 9am curtain.
3/16 Public performance 6pm Call for cast and crew /7pm curtain.
3/17 Public performance: 1pm Call for cast and crew / 2pm curtain.
3/17 3:30 Strike: Mr. Beck will run the strike for all middle school students with Jungalbook Mentor Teachers.
Tickets? The Media Division will handle all ticket sales. There are six performances and plenty of seats available. You should have received an order form for tickets. Ticket prices are $10 adults and $5 children. If you need a ticket for someone with limited mobility, please note the type of limitation (i.e. Wheelchair) in the area on the ticket order form. You can order tickets using the form or there will be tickets on sale after school starting next week.
Will I have to make or purchase a costume?
- Music division members will need black pants (no jeans), black shoes and black shirts.
- Crew must wear all black clothes for tech and performances. (No t-shirts with writing, no jeans, black shoes, black socks.)
- Actors will be responsible for providing their own shoes, undergarments (including all underwear, camisoles, tights, trunks, dance or bike shorts for wear under costumes in consideration of modesty). I have arranged a discount at Allegro on Central Street if your child needs to buy jazz shoes. Or you can also go to Payless carries shoes that look like black keds. Have your child ask the costumers if he/she has questions.
- Make-up-- each actor must provide his/her general character stage make-up. All items can be bought at any local drug store. Please see the shopping list below.
Does the rehearsal process get longer or more intense as you approach opening day? On March 7th, the middle school will move into more extended dress and technical rehearsals and production work. It is essential that your child gets lots of sleep and eats healthy food during tech week. We suggest bringing a refillable water bottle to school each day for the duration of the project so your student can stay hydrated and healthy! Healthy snacks can also be helpful to students on the long rehearsal days. There is a station in the cafeteria to refill water bottles.Absence/Attendance Policy: The Jungalbook production is similar to being on a sports team—presence is essential. Students have to be here to do the work. If your child is in school, he/she is expected to attend rehearsal every day. If your child has any change of schedule...absence, appointments, late arrival, alternate pick-up plans...this must be phoned in to the office. By calling the office, you ensure your child and yourself of clear communication within the school. The office will always inform all necessary parties of the change. We ask that you follow the Baker Demonstration School absence policy. Sending your child to school when he or she is ill puts the child at risk as well as everyone else involved in the project. The Baker Handbook has more information about our Illness Policy. Thank you.
Hygiene: Please remind your child to wear (and to bring) deodorant and to shower daily and wear clean socks and undergarments to rehearsals. They will be sharing some costume pieces between casts and being diligent about personal hygiene is important for our young actors.
Make-up Requirements for Jungalbook:
To keep everyone healthy, every actor must provide his/her general character stage make-up. A make-up kit should consist of the following and all items can be purchased at a local drugstore. Don’t spend money on anything fancy.
Make-up for Women:
Make-up for Men:
About the violence: There are two deaths in the play.
The first death occurs when the tiger fells Akela, the once alpha wolf. For the second death, the tiger is chasing Mowgli the hero of the play. He escapes Sherakhan's trap and traps Sherakhan with his wits before Sherakhan can kill him.
Both deaths are staged in a highly symbolic way.
Sherakhan (using symbolic and professionally staged fight choreography) attacks Akela, the once alpha wolf.
Sherakhan dies from drowning (silk symbolizes the water) and he disappears and doesn't appear onstage after his death.
The weapons: Sherakhan uses his/her claws (gloved hands) to kill Akela. The water and a rope are the weapons used in the drowning of Sherakhan. The "margins" in the fight scene are very wide, meaning that all of the choreography mandates a huge space between the two characters engaged in the violent act. They are doing a choreographed dance to show the violence. Safety is paramount in the work and there is a "fight call" to rehearse for safety before every rehearsal and performance.
The anti-violence, anti-weapon message: The play provides a message that is quite clear. "Obey the law of the jungle (the school, the community, your community of friends.) It clearly exposes the price paid by the bully, the character who flouts the rules and makes his own rules to the detriment of others.
How can I learn more about the project?
Baker students and mentor teachers will be keeping a wiki. The wiki will serve as the site for all things Jungalbook. Go to http://jungalbook.wikispaces.com/
Contact information: Each child has my cell phone number. My cell phone number is for your child’s use only in case of an emergency. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the JB parent liaison, Gita Tanner Drape at git@sbcglobal.net or 773-973-3054. You should have received an email from Susan Wishnick, our Jungalbook volunteer coordinator asking you to volunteer for at least one shift before the end of the run on March 17th. You can volunteer by going to this link //Jungalbook// Volunteer Form to sign up for specific times when we need your help or you can also contact Susan Wishnick, Parent Volunteer Coordinator at allansusan@aol.com.
Thank you for your support of the Jungalbook project!
Sincerely,
Lizanne Wilson
February 11, 2013
PAINTING THE SET ON SATURDAYHere we go into another wild week of Jungalbook rehearsal. Yesterday, about 30 kids and their parents (I thought it was 20 but my colleagues told me there were more!) worked on cleaning the theatre and painting the set for Jungalbook. Thank you parents and guardians for taking the time to bring your middle school student to school to work with the community. The teachers always enjoy the painting day. There is no rushing to fit everything into an hour. We have a three hour span to work at a comfortable pace. We were able to strike the "legs" which are the masking panels for each entrance onstage. They will be building new "legs" this week out of more sturdy plywood instead of flimsy luan. The students and parents painted over the MSND backdrop and we were able to create "brick walls" for the new legs out of some tape and ingenuity. The kids and parents laid down painters tape to imitate the masonry between the bricks and then the crew painted the whole panel brick red. Lifting off the tape and revealing the "brick wall" was really fun for all. Now the walls will be "distressed" to look like old alley walls.
LEARNING LINES
FAMILIES HELP! If you have a cast member in your household, please go over lines and blocking with him every night. Learning lines alone is much harder than having someone "hold the book" for you while you try to master your lines. If you can have your student study the script by:
1. Reading a page or a scene aloud
2. Covering the page with a clean sheet of paper and focusing on one line at a time and repeating that line til it sticks into the actor's memory.
3. Once the actor has a sense of the flow of the scene and is beginning to memorize the scene, someone can "hold the book" and test the actor's knowledge of the scene by going through it with him or her three or four or five times and reading all the cues and helping the actor with his mistakes on lines.
For example, take a look at the excerpt below from page 8 of the script. It doesn't matter if you have the role of Akela, Grey, or Bagheera; all of the actors need to know the sequence of the lines to understand their "cues" to speak. If someone is running lines with the young actor, they have a much better time understanding and memorizing the flow of the scene and where their lines fit into that flow. If your child has a speaking role, he or she should be studying lines at least 45 minutes to one hour a night. All lines are due this Friday. If your child doesn't have a speaking role, he or she should be memorizing his/her blocking--the movement from place to place onstage-- every day. Memorizing blocking is as important as learning lines. All of the actors are very important to the success of the play. Don't underestimate your contribution to the success of Jungalbook.
This play will only succeed with lots of hard work from the students involved in all aspects of the production. Learning your lines and blocking is only the beginning. Then we have to make the lines come to life through further development of the character. Work! Work! Work!
Example of why one has to know the whole scene to remember your cues to speak:
Akela:
Showed that tiger.
Grey:
Do we eat the mancub now?
Akela:
No, stupid. We get the bull.
Grey:
Oh, Yeh.
Bagheera:
What will you name the mancub?
Akela:
Name? Oh, right.
We'll call him
uh
let's see.
He's got no fur on his skin
so we'll call him
Mowgli.
February 5, 2013
Don't forget to come and paint the set with your middle school student on Sunday, February 10 between 1 and 4pm. All students who come to paint on Sunday must be accompanied by an adult. Also check out the volunteer form on the wiki. We need lots of help and we'd love to have you work with us.We had a production meeting today with all of the Jungalbook mentor teachers. Mr. Schoeneman finished his second lighting class with our students this morning in Carlson. There is so much Science and Math in theater. Kara and I figured out how to do Kaa, the snake, today. Things are starting to flow. Kids know where they should be and what their jobs entail. While the whole JB teacher team met with the middle school teachers yesterday afternoon from 2:45-3:15, Ms. Swanson-Beck met with the whole middle school in Carlson. One student from each working group reported on the progress of their individual groups and answered questions. Students did some reflection in their notebooks. I met with Ms. Swanson-Beck this morning and she mentioned how poised and confident our student presenters were as they spoke in front of the whole middle school. I heard from Mr. Bingaman today that Jungalbook was sneaking into written conversations and discussions in Language Arts. That is the idea of the integrated project and yet we are all so glad when we see it start to connect throughout the curriculum for our kids.
Gita Tanner Drape is our new JB Parent Liason. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to contact Gita by phone or at git@sbcglobal.net.
February 2, 2013
The week flew by as we blocked our first scenes in both the red and blue cast. Stage Managers learned about the mechanics of stage management from Gita and Scott. Lia wrote her first weekly update from all of the work groups and Daisy and Allison worked on designing the callboard. Student actors realized that writing down one's blocking in rehearsal is important (otherwise you forget where you were supposed to go! Assignments went out to the dancers/movement artists for Monday when Kara will work with them to put their original "movement sentences" into larger "paragraphs of movement" and eventually whole pieces for the play. Costume designers presented to me on Wednesday while Scott and Kara ran the blocking rehearsal. The costumes were, in short, brilliant, insightful, creative and and amusing. Meg did a great job leading the girls through the process of character analysis and through their work on Pinterest, they collected all sorts of visual material for insipiration. Wait til you all see your costumes--they will inspire you!Allison found a poem by Rudyard Kipling from the Mowgli Stories that really sums up the central ideas of the play. Here it is:
From Allison:
This is a poem that's featured in the second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. It reminded me a lot of some of Baloo's monologues and thought it may help them understand the language a little more.
http://www.kipling.org.uk/poems_lawofjungle.htm
Check it out...Great find, Allison!
Next week we will send out a volunteer form to families and a detailed rehearsal schedule.
Have a good weekend!
Ms. Wilson
What a wonderful day! January 25, 2013
Our zoo trip was cancelled due to weather conditions. I was disappointed for the kids. When we decided to cancel, the team: JB Mentor Teachers, MS Teachers and Artists in Residence worked to craft a Jungalbook intensive that would meet the objectives of the field trip.The students started with advisory.
9:30--10:45---Jungalbook Town Hall Meeting
We introduced themes of the play and students brought up key questions that kept coming up for them. Lots of discussion of the setting of the play in an alley and what that means for everyone's work whether it is costumes, sets, media, photography, video, crew etc...
We broke into our multi-age field trip groups with JB Teacher Mentors and Middle School Teachers as leaders. The kids formulated an essential question in each group. Those questions were taken into the session at
10:45--12:15 Digital Zoo/Discussion
In their field trip groups, students shared their research from Science class on the individual animals in the play. In my group with Ms. Hepp, we discussed modern archetypes in our culture for each of the characters. I loved the suggestions of Kanye West as Sherakhan at the Grammys when Taylor Swift won a Grammy. We talked about James Bond as Ballou and many others. The students brought their insights and questions into the discussion. The agreed to "see it differently" at times and they had lively discussions of the themes in the play.
12:15--1 Lunch and Recess
1:00--1:45 Viewed Elephant's Child, an award winning film of the Kipling story on video, with Jack Nicholson as the narrator.
1:45--3:15 Regular Jungalbook Arts Core Classes.
In rehearsal, we began in the cafeteria with introductions all around and some protracted movement explorations into the world of the play. After warm-ups, students worked as an ensemble on an exercise starting and stopping movement as a group without a designated leader. Then the same technique was applied to movement. They stopped and started without an assigned leader while picking up and sharing movement phrases. It was a dialogue through movement for 31 students. We finished in the drama room with goal setting: a short term goal for next Friday and a long term goal for the entire project. Trusting the process as we work is essential, I want the answers, but if I trust the students to collaborate with the mentors, we will have a much stronger show that reflects the collective vision of the middle school. That takes time, courage and patience.
Yes, today was a great day. I'm so sorry we couldn't go to the zoo, but there was lots of learning and connecting today.
I want to say a huge public thank you to:
The mentor teachers: Mr. Beck, Ms. Guerra, Ms. Crawford, Ms. Grgurich, Ms. Karstedt, Mr Shimizu, Mr. Gnutek, Mr. Haight for their willingness work to to plan something meaningful,educational and artistic for today's sessions together
Mr. Leach, MS Team Leader for his astute leadership in helping me to make the right call to cancel the trip and for working to find meaningful and challenging pursuits for our kids today.
Mr. Bingaman for leading as we moved students' into their field trip groups and for helping to formulate excellent questions for discussion.
Ms. Hepp for teaching all about the animals in Jungalbook this week including having the students research one specific animal. It made today's work so much more meaningful.
Mrs. Nayder for suggesting Lincoln Park Zoo as an alternate. Even though it didn't work out in the end, we tried our level best to preserve the field trip. Thanks.
Mr. Haines for helping to organize the digital zoo part of the day and making things run smoothly by doing what needed to be done.
Ms. Tuchman and Ms. Jackson for being on top of everything, as always. It takes a village to make a cancelled field trip a success.
Have a great weekend everyone.
Cast--your assignment is due on Tuesday. Here it is and I'll put it on my blog as well.
Jungalbook
Character Work.1 Due memorized next Tuesday, January 29
Directions: Type or write (triple spaced) at least 10 lines from an important moment in the play for one of your characters.
1 Paraphrase the speech into clear, standard English.
2 Circle all punctuation. Identify the parts of speech in the sentence for yourself.
3 Highlight key words in the text. Using colored pencils or microsoft word on the computer, color each key word in order to communicate the meaning of the key words when you are speaking.
4 Punch: choose words in the speech that must be heard and understood. Underline them.
5 Pause: mark when you take a breath with a check mark. Then use the text to decide where you pause //.
6 Create a specific movement for each highlighted (punch, pause, color) word in the text.
Save question 7 for later work--
7 WRITE In your spiral notebook: Answer the following questions for your character in this scene. Use “I” and write as your character when answer these questions:
Thursday, January 24, 2013---Field Trip to the zoo tomorrow! Dress warmly.
We started rehearsals on Tuesday with two read-throughs of the script for the red and the blue cast respectively.On Wednesday, every production area met on their own to start the hard work of putting up the show.
In rehearsal, we began with warm-ups: a physical warm-up led by Kara and then a mindfulness exercise let by Scott that led into work with the music of language and exploring all of our vocal range with me. When one is first developing a character, it's easy to get stuck in physical or vocal "cliches" or "traps". We explore with lots of movement work and vocal exploration so the actor can find the voice for his character. One can do that by thinking about it and trying different options. I prefer to take actors through physical explorations that lead into vocal experimentation. When we approach character through the physical then the actor is able to use all his tools: mind, body, voice and imagination, to build a character that is unique and complicated.
Mean Girls, the movie? We had the cast take a look at two scenes in the film Mean Girls. In the movie, the main character has just returned from living in a jungle in Africa to a California high school. She imagines the high school social groups as wild animals. Seeing the clips started the casts on a great discussion of and exploration of the continuum of Totally human as a "10" to pure animal as a "1". Where will our characters be on the human---animal spectrum? The adults are thinking mostly human with animal characteristics, but the actors will explore and discover and we will see.
Today, Kara will do some work with "flocking" which is a technique she learned through the Actor's Gym. Scott has training in flocking as well. I'm excited to learn something new today.
Here's the pic of the lion at the zoo...I hope he's around his window tomorrow.
January 21, 2013
Jungalbook--rehearsal day 1.
We start tomorrow. You will get your script at rehearsal.
Tue Jan 22, 2013--For your first rehearsal, please go to the location specified on these lists—
Supplies: Starting Wednesday, you will need to bring your
Three ring binder
Spiral notebook for drama
2 sharpened pencils
Carlson Auditorium Read Thru—1:45pm - 2:45pm (Blue Cast)
The following students will come to Carlson at 1:45. Bring a pencil.
Carlson read –thru:
Ms. Karstadt—Acting AIR
Mr. Beck—Technical Director
Mr. Haight—Media Division Mentor—Video and Photography
Mr. Leach, Mr. Haines, Ms. Cawley
Assistant Stage Managers--Nina Kaushikaar, Katherine Mann
Stage Crew: Mr. Beck
Crew Chief--Daniela Romero
Lighting Design--TBD
Sound Engineer--Chris Rohner
Stage Crew--Jake Coasby, Kurt Bruggeman, Aiden Finnegan
Kenneth Fox
House Manager--Lizzie Raffel
MEDIA: Ms.Crawford, Mr. Haight, Ms. Cruse
Photography: Sophie Haight Sophie Levine Holt Oliphant
Video: Fabio Andrade, Gia Calbeza, Ted Dove
Business/ Box Office/Digital Media:
Poster--Haley Gibbs
Program design--Henry Goodman
Box Office Head--Chris Werner
Digital Media Staff --Lizzie Raffel
BLUE CAST-15
Baloo—Ben D.
Grab--Joseph
Grey--Maia
Akela--Seth
Bagheera—Annie
Sherakhan---Lauren
Mowgli---Carlo
Perchy the Monkey---Levi
Chil the Vulture---Nora
Hyena—Ben B
Hathi—Sophia Z
Kaa---Ayanna
Dance Captain: Violet and Sophia
Movement Group: Ayanna, Noah*,
Violet, Sophia Z. Helen
2:45pm –3:15
All move to Carlson for Introductions of AIR’s and Mentor Artists
Jungalbook
Tue Jan 22, 2013
Music/Drama Room Read Thru—1:45pm - 2:45pm
Please come to the drama/music room at 1:45. (red cast)
Ms. Wilson, Director
Mr. Shimizu—Apprentice AIR
Ms. Tanner—Acting Mentor
Ms. Grgurich –Design AIR
Mr. Gnutek—Set Designer and Design Mentor,
Mr. Bingaman, Ms. Hepp
Production Stage Manager-- Lia Nelson
Assistant Stage Manager--Owen Baker
Assistant to Ms. Wilson---Daisy Hernandez
Dramaturgy/Head Storyteller-- Allison Grimstead
Music:
Ben Gershuny, Leah Jablo, Elvis Hernandez, Tyler Young
Michael Lazenby*, Noah Roth*
Design Division
Set /Props: Louisa Carman—Head, Props--Charlie Parkerson, Taylor, Max
Set Design-- Eva Darow, Sophie Krajewski, Francie Haight, Szymon, Haddie BD, Harper Bischoff
Costumes-- Elise Buchannan, Izzy Miller, Grace Goodman, Sophia Francis (make-up too) Amber Malik, Remi Schreder, Meghan TerMolen,
RED CAST-16
Baloo--Miles
Grab—Jesse SZ
Grey--Ava
Akela--Chester
Bagheera—Becca
Sherakhan—Alec J.
Mowgli--Haley
Perchy the Monkey— Elsa
Chil the Vulture—Jack
Hyena—Sam CC
Hathi—Ceredwyn
Kaa--Sage
Dance Captain---Zinnia and Ceredwyn,
Movement Group: Zoe, Sage, Michael L*, Zinnia and Ceredwyn
Simone
2:45pm –3:15
All move to Carlson for Introductions of AIR’s and Mentor Artists
FIELD TRIP THIS Friday, January 28–HEADS UP!
9:15--Meet in the cafeteria at
9:30--Leave Baker
10:30--Arrive Brookfield Zoo at
10:30--noon--Small group activities
Noon--Students gather at The Riverside Room behind BZ Red Hots to eat a sack lunch.
12:30--Buses leave for Baker
1:30--Return to Baker
1:45--Arts Core and Field Trip Debrief
For our field trip to Brookfield Zoo on Friday, you will need:Bring warm clothing including:
The wind is supposed to gust up to 30 mph on Friday. Do not sacrifice your comfort to look good.
You will be terribly cold if you do not plan carefully.
For your field trip school work, bring:
- a notebook,
- 2 pencils,
- your sketchbook or plain paper,
- a sack lunch and
- a water bottle,
Don’t forget these items! I suggest you put out your supplies for the field trip the night before (a teacher can suggest!) You are the one who is responsible for remembering your required supplies for rehearsals and for the field trip.Brookfield Zoo:
I spent some time at the zoo yesterday (Sunday), checking out every place you will visit on Friday. As I was visiting with my Dad afterward, he said, “Many of your students might have not been there before.” Is that true? Perhaps Lincoln Park Zoo is your family zoo of choice? Or maybe you have visited Brookfield Zoo many times? I look forward to hearing your reactions to Brookfield Zoo. I saw a tiger (Sherakhan) yesterday. He was beautiful and majestic. The bears are right near the tigers. I saw the wolves (they are amazing creatures and it’s a great exhibit.) We looked at the rainforests. No hyenas at the zoo, but they do have vultures. The best part was the lion! They have a glass panel right on the edge of his cage. He was roaring, so Mr. H and I went over to see him. There was no one there but the two of us and he came right up to the glass and looked me in the eye. It was scary, but so much fun to be that close to a lion…yikes! I could feel the sound vibrations from his roar…he did not like me standing so close, even with a glass wall between us. Is that how Sherakhan feels when Mowgli is nearby?